Leona is 4!

We don't do big birthday parties. I just think they are not necessary and a waste of money. We do a family celebration instead and it works great for us!

Yesterday Leonka turned 4! I just can't believe it! As I am typing right now I am looking at the photo in front of me where she is less than a year old being held up high by Mirek. Her features haven't changed much. Her hair is still very blond and she has just gotten even more cute! Interestingly, at the age of 2 her eye color changed from blue to green.

So, being so busy with getting ready for our drama performance at the co-op, I didn't have to waste my time preparing the big party. We had asked her what she'd like to do for her B-Day. She said she wanted to go to the zoo. Works for me!

In the morning the girls helped me to bake a cake. The birthday girl's wish was a carrot cake. There was no surprise there for her, but they had a blast mixing and adding, and licking the spatulas with cream. Then we did cupcakes since she wanted to take them to the homeschooling co-op to share with her classmates and friends.

I cooked a nice lunch for us and Mirek was able to take half of a day off so we all could go to the zoo. The zoo was very nice! It was a great day to go there! First, they've just opened up for the season, so all the animals looked pretty well taken care of and agile. It was pretty empty , too, since it was mid week. And the variety of animals was just phenomenal! My favorite was a kookaburra. And we even got lucky since the birds performed that crazy "laugh" right when we were standing and looking at them. Leona's favorite was a giraffe, because it was big, she said. And another fun part was to watch the baby's reaction when she saw the animals and heard them make different noises. Her eyes were bigger than big and the little finger wouldn't stop pointing!

Blowing the candles on the cake and opening up the gifts was the end of our celebration. By no means it's the best B-day celebration ever! But it's the one kind I wish I had when I was a little girl.

Happy 4th Birthday to our Leonka!